Boston Celtics Power Rankings - 2014-15

With all due respect to Wyc Grousbeck, it's a stretch to suggest Brad Stevens is going to attract free agents to Boston. Yet there's no denying that the Celts, with a free swing looming in the playoffs and all those draft assets to dangle in trades, have an enviable future under their gem of a coach.

It's not quite Westbrook-ian, but Evan Turner has three triple-doubles since the All-Star break, second only to Ridiculous Russ' nine in the same span. The complete list of Celts with at least three triple-doubles in the same season: Pierce, Toine, Rondo, Bird, Cousy, Russell, Havlicek ... and Evan Turner.

Maybe they'll catch a break in April, when Cleveland or Toronto might see an opening to rest some regulars. But the Celts can't count on such breaks, so this week's games in Charlotte and at home against Indiana and Milwaukee are vital. Especially after ill-timed home L's to Detroit and Miami.

You can rationalize road losses to the Thunder and Spurs. Far less defensible is the crotch punch Marcus Smart threw at Matt Bonner, followed by a damaging home loss to Detroit, with the Celtics in the midst of playing so many of the teams trying to snag one of those last three playoff spots.

Remember early in the season when the Celtics always lost the close ones late? Check out what's happened since Jan. 22. They've played a league-high 18 games in that span that were within five points in the final five minutes ... and won 11 of them. Bill Simmons' playoff dream lives!

The Celts foiled their own playoff push by following up a rout in Cleveland with a fold in Orlando to sandwich their collapsed deal with JaVale McGee. But Boston does have eight games left with the other five teams (Charlotte, Indiana, Miami, Brooklyn and Detroit) chasing the East's last two postseason berths.

The Celtics suddenly find themselves on the short list of teams (along with Sacramento) to squander a 26-point lead this season. But it's safe to say Isaiah Thomas is finding his niche, ranking as the first Celtic with at least 19 points in four straight games off the bench since Kevin McHale in February 1990.

The Celts have somehow managed to flirt with .500 ball (8-10) since the Jeff Green trade, but that's naturally not the focus of the front office. That would be fitting in Isaiah Thomas, Jared Sullinger's recovery, and the nine first-round picks Danny Ainge has amassed over the next four NBA drafts.

With no Boston attractions at All-Star Weekend -- save for glimpses of the injured Kelly Olynyk -- Celts fans spent the break debating the merits of playing for pingpong balls. But a 7-5 uptick, including that thrilling win over Atlanta, has some folks rethinking things. (Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston.com)

Imagine where the Celts would be if they hadn't lost 11 of 12 games against fellow East residents before a win in New York against the Knicks launched a rare 3-0 start to the week. Boston would be even more of a playoff factor than it already is ... whether Danny Ainge really wants to be chasing a playoff berth or not.

Seventeen days? Is our math right? Have 17 days indeed elapsed since we last saw Trader Danny swing a deal? Something tells me the Celts will spend these next two-plus weeks before the deadline thinking much more about trying to make another trade or two as opposed to chasing a playoff berth.

Have we unearthed a specialty for the oft-maligned Evan Turner? His decisive 3 in the win at Portland that finally snapped Boston's 24-game road losing streak to Western Conference teams made him 4-for-8 lifetime on go-ahead shots with less than five seconds to go in the fourth quarter or OT.

Hard to believe that the Celts' next road win over a Western Conference foe will be their first in the Brad Stevens Era. Monday's MLK Day matinee against Doc Rivers, Austin Rivers and the rest of the Clips launches a six-game West swing that will require Boston to trek more than 8,000 miles.

A six-game trek out West looms after home dates this week with the Pelicans, Hawks and Bulls. Which means it's not unreasonable to suggest that the Celts could go winless for the rest of the month. So the real show, with this team, remains the prospect of more trades. Stay tuned.

The saddest part about Rajon Rondo's triumphant return wasn't solely that Celts fans hadn't seen that Rondo for the last several months of his Boston stay. Almost as bad: Rondo's return happened so soon after the trade and might have been the last game of consequence at TD Garden this season.

Celtics fans will have had to wait a mere 15 days for Rajon Rondo's return to Boston this Friday. Then we can all join them in spending the next 48 days on Danny Ainge Watch, awaiting potential deals involving Jeff Green, Brandon Bass, Brandan Wright, etc., leading into the Feb. 19 trade deadline.

In the wake of the Rondo deal, Brad Stevens told SB Nation's Paul Flannery he plans to stick it out in Boston no matter what college interest inevitably comes. It'll be a long road back to prominence for the Celts, but they have lots of assets and young pieces to work with ... Stevens among them.

Jared Sullinger is slumping. Rajon Rondo, up to three triple-doubles now but off key in the fourth quarter of the game in which he notched his latest, continues to drift between dazzling and frustrating. And the Celts are officially drifting after losses in Charlotte and at home to the bickering Knicks.

Breakfast of champions? Not exactly. But Rajon Rondo has been a different dude since his ballyhooed morning summit with Kobe Bryant, hoisting 17 shots in each of the past two games and overseeing a fourth quarter in which the Celts for once didn't implode, hanging on to stun the Wiz instead.

Big leads over Cleveland and Chicago don't provide much encouragement because the Celts crumbled in both fourth quarters. When you really examine it, they are winless since Nov. 8 if you toss out their Nov. 19 triumph in Philly. Something else to sweat: Rajon Rondo is somehow only 9-for-30 at the FT line.

Marcus Smart is nearing his return from that scary injury, Rajon Rondo has already posted a triple-double along with two near misses and a brutal November schedule that still features home dates with Chicago and San Antonio is almost over. So we'll ignore (for now) where the Celts rank on D.

Perhaps it's a little easier for Celts fans to take knowing LeBron had to score a season-high 41 to spark an epic Cavs comeback. Or perhaps not. Until Friday night's collapse, Boston hadn't lost a game at home after entering the fourth quarter with a lead of 17 or more since March 1988 against Philly.

Rajon Rondo's spirited start, Marcus Smart's escape from a long-term injury after that nasty fall and another eye-popping win you didn't expect -- this time Saturday night in Chicago -- have all combined to drown out our outrage about those ghastly new alternate unis. For now.

The Celts were never going to stay as hot as they looked ringing up 121 points on Brooklyn in Boston's highest-scoring season opener since 1990. And we can only hope they're not going to stay as off-target as they were in making unwanted NBA history by shooting 1-for-25 from deep in Houston.

The month of October was a good example of what we were talking about last time out. With Rajon Rondo's hand injury and his rush to get ready in time for Opening Night, Jared Sullinger's promising play and a couple of trades already, Boston is keeping it as interesting as a bottom-10 team can.

Will they? Or won't they? Are they keeping Rajon Rondo? Or trading him? One certainty amid all the questions: Danny Ainge's Celts will be newsy all season, no matter how ragged they get on the floor, given all the assets besides Rondo they're stockpiling for their next KG-style blockbuster.